'You're just used to it' intergenerational relationships

: a neighbourhood case study

Abstract

Within the frame of the global ageing phenomenon and generational conflict, there has been recent interest in age relationships. Research has been mainly driven from within social gerontology and family studies. This research addressed a gap by focussing on neighbourhood age relationships, which have received little research attention to date. It aimed to reveal the drivers of age relationships within a case study neighbourhood in Northern Ireland. Using an ethnographic and mixed method approach within a critical frame, the research exposed the highly contextualised social factors which influence the nature of age relationships within the neighbourhood. Theoretical analysis of the data views continued ageist stereotypes, social exclusion and the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict as being packed with ambiguity. This ambiguity is interpreted as ambivalence grounded in the push and pull of group categorisation processes of social identification. The research concludes that age relationships are driven by the specific social context in which they are produced. As such, attempts to promote solidarity between age groups as a means to tackle the challenges of our ageing society must take full account of this context. It is suggested that a focus on contact between generations, in the form of all-age projects, is helpful but only if these localised social conditions are present in the exchange.

Date of Award	Jul 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast